The Photograph
by tyrion son of tywin
Summary: The war had left scars on all of them. Some more visible than others. After discovering one of his brother's photos, Dennis understands this. Oneshot.


When all was said and done, no one remembered Collin Creevey. No one except Dennis. And it made Dennis so angry. His brother had sacrificed his life for a world that wasn't his own, and they couldn't even remember him!? Why had his brother chosen to fight? Why hadn't he just left with the others?

And one night in his rage he destroyed every photograph that Collin had clicked, every single one he could get his hands on.

When he woke up next morning he felt wretched and sobbed for hours until he found a single photo left untouched.

It was of the Gryffindor common room. Somehow, Collin had managed to capture the entire common room.

It showed the Weasley twins grinning as they sat at the table plotting some new mischief with Lee Jordan- whose dreadlocks were hanging over his eyes, make him blow at them irritatedly. And with a pang he realized that no one would ever see that again, because Fred was dead, and Lee's blindness meant he never realized when his dreadlocks were in his eyes and George hadn't grinned like that since Fred had died.

Lavender and Parvati were giggling as they entered the common room, and he remembered saying once, that those two were literally joined at the hip. But now, Lavender's once flawless face had scars from her encounter with Greyback, and Parvati was in a coma ever since she threw herself in front of a curse meant for her twin and it had been far too long since either if them had giggled like that.

He saw Oliver Wood making wide gestures to Katie as she listened to him prattle on boredly. Now Oliver's left hand was restricted in its movements because of a poorly executed paralysis curse and Katie was partially deaf. Not that it had stopped either of them from being one of the best quidditch players in the world.

And on and on it went. He saw Neville tending to one of his plants with hands that were perfectly still. . It had taken him years to get that back because of all the crucios he had been subjected to. He saw Seamus smile at Dean Thomas and wondered where he was now. . . Dean had disappeared after the war, and Seamus was never quite the same boisterous Irish boy after losing his best friend. Dennis saw people who were now dead, in a coma, marred for life or just plain broken, laugh and smile and fool around, completely at ease and enjoying their lives, unaware of what the future held.

And finally his eyes came to the fireplace, where he saw them- Harry, Ron and Hermione. He had always been surprised that none of them had come out of the war with any visible scars, they were after all in the center of it all. He had resented them. Oh how he had resented them. Harry most of all. They had come out for the better he had told himself whenever he saw an article in the newspaper talking of a new law Hermione was having amended or passed, a new victory Harry had over one of Britain's many adversaries-whether domestic or international, or a new arrest Ron had made.

And yet, now, as he looked at the picture in his hands, he wondered if maybe he had it wrong. If maybe they were the ones who came out the worst.

Hermione was staring at Ron with an expression Dennis remembered all too well. . She had worn it whenever she thought he was being incredibly stupid and was taking pride in her own brilliance. Her eyes though were soft and innocent as she stared at him and Harry. Her eyes were harder now and her demeanor more downtrodden, and yet somehow impossibly strong. But still . . He had seen her flinch violently once when she saw a curly haired brunette laugh rather boisterously.. Dennis didn't think the Hermione in his brother's photo had known how to flinch.

Ron had a wide grin on his face in the photo, and he looked as if he didn't have a care in the world. His blue eyes were bright with mischief and joy. Today, Ron walked around with sagging shoulders and solemn eyes from having seen one too many deaths and having to deal with horrors on a daily basis due to his job as an auror.

And then there was Harry, who was smiling fondly at both of his friends with so much love in his eyes. Dennis hadn't seen Harry's eyes that warm and happy in a long time.

Dennis' eyes carefully noted how Harry slouched on the couch and thought of how he always stood so straight now, so impossibly tall and untouchable. He thought of emerald green eyes, cold and distant and a half smile, that was a poor substitute for the full blown one it had replaced.

He thought of the impossible responsibility that Harry had shouldered- the responsibility to protect a nation, to improve it, to prevent it from ever having to go through the same ordeal again, and wondered how he could have been so blind.

Those three didn't have it better than all the others, they had it worse.

Because while Lavender could cry for her lost friends, and visibly struggle through every full moon, Hermione had to hide the scars Bellatrix Lestrange had left her with- both physical and emotional, as she tried to change lives for the better. She couldn't afford to cry, because if she started, she'd never stop.

While Oliver and Neville and Seamus could go to rehab and heal together, Ron couldn't, because he had bad guys to catch and good guys to save. Ron couldn't because he was too busy covering the duties of the other members of the auror department who needed to attend those meetings.

And Harry, who had lost more than all of them in the war had never been allowed to show any sign of grief, any sign weakness because they all needed him to be strong. They needed him to step up and be everything Dumbledore used to be and more. And he had.

Harry did it all without a complaint. He never broke down crying like George did sometimes, because he missed someone he'd lost. . He never threw fits of rage for the sheer injustice of it all like Dennis did. . .He just kept on pushing, kept on moving, never letting himself feel the loss, never letting himself fail in his duty to be strong for them all. And wasn't that such a shame? Harry's greatest quality had been his ability to feel, to love, and now he had stopped doing that to stop from self destructing.

And somehow, seeing how much they had all lost. . Seeing how they still persevered made Dennis realize why his brother had fought. Made him understand.

He wasn't the only one who had lost a part of himself, he was not the only one hurting. They all were, and everyday they fought against the despair and the anger that threatened to overrun them. And just because no one said anything didn't mean that anyone had forgotten Collin Creevey. And Dennis vowed, that his brother would never be forgotten.

Two weeks later, after taking the headmistress' permission, the Gryffindor common room now had Collins photo, enlarged to the size of a portrait, to be kept in the common room for as long as it stood. He then personally gave a framed copy of the photo to all of the living people featured in the photo and even had one hung in the ministry.

When George saw the photo, he cried. Lavender immediately made a copy and promptly went and hung it in Parvati's hospital room. Oliver and Katie hung it in their home, and told their children tales about all their friends in the photo. Neville smiled. Seamus hung it in his bar and told all his curious patrons about it. Dennis never found out if Dean ever saw the photo, because he gave it to Dean's mom who gave him a watery thanks in return.

When Hermione saw the photo, her eyes filled with unshed tears and she hugged him tight whispering her thanks into his ear.

Ron clapped him on the back and had to clear his throat twice before he managed to thank Dennis, his voice still a bit wobbly.

Harry saw it when Dennis brought it to him at his office in the ministry. He greeted Dennis with a smile, standing from behind his desk, and holding out a hand for him to shake. And Dennis said nothing, unable to think of anything except how different this smile was to the one immortalized in the photo. Wordlessly, Dennis gave him the photo.

When Harry saw the photo, his smile slid off his face. Dennis watched in silence as Harry dropped into his chair and stared at the photo. And suddenly, he looked so tired. 'Thank you' Harry said looking at him with a faint smile, his eyes looking far too old. Dennis nodded in reply. Of all the thanks he had received, he'd treasure that the most.

Dennis' last memory of that meeting, was looking back as the door was about to shut close. Harry had the photograph in one hand and his head in the other. Dennis didn't think he had ever seen someone look that defeated.

As he walked out, Dennis allowed himself to hope. The world would keep moving and with it so would they.

But maybe. . Just maybe, one day they'd make the distinction between moving and running away.

 **Hey guys,**

 **So I read a story about Dennis creating an album using Collins camera and inspiration struck and this happened. I hope you like it. Also for those of you who liked 'the science of magic' I'm sorry but I won't be updating the story anytime soon. I sorta lost my muse . . But I'm NOT abandoning it.**

 **loads of love**


End file.
